Sean Monahan’s Healthy Scratch is a Long Time Coming

It seems the night for Sean Monahan to take a seat has finally come. After being an extra at practice on Thursday afternoon and for the morning skate on Friday, Sean Monahan will be a healthy scratch for the first time in his pro career. He’s on track for his worst season in the NHL and a night off could do him a lot of good.

The Slow Drop

Sean Monahan was the other half of the dynamic duo of himself and Johnny Gaudreau in their first few years in the league. They fueled each other to team-leading point production and in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons and at his peak, he achieved and exceeded the 30 goal mark.

Since the pandemic hit, Monahan has not only struggled with the adjustments that come with shortened seasons and playoff bubbles but also with some pretty serious injuries with some requiring surgery.

Since he joined the Calgary Flames, the former top center has gotten two wrist surgeries, a groin surgery, two hernia surgeries as well as playing through a cracked thumb. That’s not even the end of the list.

The night for Sean Monahan to take a seat has finally come.

Last season, he played the back half of the season with a hip injury that required surgery. Once the Flames were statically out of the playoff race, he was shut down and got the surgery in the offseason. Some thought that might be the last time they see Monahan in a Flames uniform, but that was not the case.

It has been a slow trend that has really shown itself this year. In the 2019-20 season, he earned 22 goals and 26 assists in 70 games. This was low but not as low as the seasons afterward.

Last season, he only put up a total of 28 points in 50 games with 10 goals and 18 assists. This season in 13 fewer games, he has yet to match the production numbers of last season. This year, he sits at eight goals and 14 assists in 50 games played.

How He Got Here

Despite the success the Flames have been having this season, not too much of it can be attributed to Monahan. Monahan has fallen down the depth chart finding himself on the third or fourth line on most nights. Another thing that has unsurprisingly fallen is his production as well.

He hasn’t found the scoresheet since February 21st. Beyond that, he has only put up three points in his last 25 games. At some point, you have to shut it down and see if there are other players on your roster that might be a better option.

He doesn’t skate like he used to and the tape-to-tape passes he used to get from Johnny Gaudreau for “sure goals,” have turned into fanned opportunities that go wide of the net. There are some nights he can be pretty hard to watch.

It’s not for a lack of trying, as his place on this team and the place he has had in the locker room motivates him to put forth his best effort. Maybe his best effort at the moment is hindered by simply being past his prime or the after-effects of injuries.

Coach’s Comments

Darryl Sutter spoke to the media on Friday before the Flames were set to play the Arizona Coyotes. The projected lineup was shared and Sean Monahan was expected to be absent from it. Sutter spoke on the elephant in the room. He hasn’t lost any respect for Monahan but figures it’s time for some change.

When someone has been such a large part of an organization for so long, it is very easy to put the blinders on and figure he’ll be fine. That’s a little bit of what seems to have happened with the eyes that were supposed to have been on Monahan.

Sutter went on to say,

“You’ve got to look at the big picture with Sean for sure. He had major hip surgery last summer and worked his tail off to come back here and be ready.”

No hard feelings on the upper-level side of things. Just an action that needs to happen.

Are His Days Numbered?

It’s no secret that Monahan’s name has been on the trading block for quite some time but either the interest has not been there or the other side of the trade was not worth losing one of the Flames’ alternate captains.

Monahan has a hefty $6.375 million salary that is taking up cap space through the 2022-23 season before he is set to become an unrestricted free agent. He’s survived the trade deadline, but the offseason could prove to be another period of time that he could get picked up in a trade.

For now, the big picture is Darryl Sutter and the Calgary Flames will need all the pieces of their lineup to be a playoff contender and for the time being, Monahan is still a part of that picture.